Sheet piling mechanism



May 7, 1935.,

w. F. CONKLIN Er AL SHEET FILING MECHANISM Filed Feb. 13, 1929 2Sheets-Sheet 1 May 7, 1935. w. F. CONKLIN ET AL SHEET FILING MECHANISMFiled Feb. 13, 1929 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTORS iii? Patented May 7, 1935UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE I SHEET PILING MECHANISM ceased ApplicationFebruary 13,1929, S erlal No. 339,617

I 15 Claims. Our invention relates to sheet piling mechanism. While ithas been designed for piling hot metal sheets as they are dischargedfrom a furnace, it may be employed for piling sheets com- 5 posed ofmaterial other than metal.

We have illustrated our invention in connection with a continuous sheetannealing furnace, which employs waster sheets placed directly on thesheet conveying means in the furnace, the waster sheets supporting andcarrying the sheets to be annealed through the furnace. The wastersheets are used to protect the sheets being annealed from thedestructive or harmful action of the furnace heat and to allow thesheets to be treated to receive an even annealing heat. After the wastersheets have passed through the furnace they are preferably automaticallyreturned to the feeding end of the furnace for reuse while the annealedsheets pass on to the piling mechanism.

It is one object of our invention to provide automatic means forreturning waster sheets to the feeding-in end of the furnace. Anotherobject is to provide piling mechanism by which the sheets areautomatically formedinto piles with substantially even ends and sides.Another object is to provide two piling devices preferably in tandem, sothat, when onepile has been built up to the desired height by one pilingmechanism the piling is continued by the other piling mechanism. Thisduplication'of the piling mechanisms prevents the stopping of thefeeding of the sheets through the furnace. When the feeding of thesheets is stopped while a truck bearing a pile of sheets is being movedaway and another truck is being moved into position to receive anotherpile. some of the sheets are damaged in the furnace and the productionof the furnace is cut down. Other objects appear hereinafter.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, Fig. 1 is a side elevation ofour piling mechanism in its preferred form, in connection with avertical section of a portion of an annealing furnace and the sheetconveying parts between the furnace and the piling mechanism. Some ofthe parts are broken away, and some are in section.'

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of Fig. 1, without the trucks and sheets. I

Fig. 3 is a section in the line 3-3 on Fig. 1.

Figs. 4, and 6 are diagrammatic side elevations showing the feeding ofthe sheets at different stages preparatory to their being entirelyplaced on the pile beneath.

Fig. 'I is an elevation of the right-hand end of Fig. '1, with partsbroken away.

-. On the drawings, I designates an annealing furnace having at itsdelivery end the roller table 2, the" furnace chamber and the tablebeing provided with feeding nieansfas the rollers 3, driven by suitablemeans, not shown, for conveying the waster sheets l with the sheets -5undergoing annealing treatment riding directly thereon. The superposedsheets 4 and 5 are fed between the feed rolls 6 and l, the latter beingfluted so that it will have improved feeding action on the wastersheets. The sheets 5 are sufficiently long to be fed into thepassbetween the feed rolls 8 before or when they leave the pass between therolls 6 and 1, but the waster sheets 4 are short enough to have theirrear ends out of the pass of the rolls 6 and 1 before their forward endsreach the rolls 8, so that the waster sheets will fall between the twopairs of feed rolls and upon the inclined bed or guide 9. The flutes ofthe roll I engage the rear ends of the waster sheets and force themonward after they leave the pass of the rolls 6 and l, in order to'movethe rear ends of the waster sheets below the roller 1 and allow them tofall clear thereof. The waster sheets fall upon the feed roller I 8projecting above the guide 9. The roller "l and the lower roller 8 areconnected by the belt or drive chain ll whose lower leg drives theroller Ill. The waster sheets are fed down the guide 9 and into the passof the rollers l and I2 which feed them to the endless conveyor l3 forreturning the waster sheets to the front end of the furnace, theconveyor running preferably in a tunnel H beneath the hearth l5 of thefurnace.

The sheets 5 are fed from the rolls 8 onto the endless conveyor l6,which is composed of two side sprocket chains l'l, connected in parallelrelation by the cross-bars or rods l8, each carrying a number of looserollers IS. The side chains run over the sprocket wheels 20, 2| and 22on the upper part of the frame 23 of the piling mechanism, and under thesprocket wheels 24 and 25 on the upper partof the frame.

. The shaft 28 which carries the sprocket wheels 22 is driven by thesprocket chain '29 connected to be driven by any suitable prime mover.The shaft 30 which carries the sprocket wheels 20 drives the lowerroller 8 by means of the sprocket chain 3|.

The stub-shafts 32 carrying the sprocket wheels 24 are above the shaft30, but the lower sides of the sprocket wheels 24 are below the top ofthe spocket wheels 28, so that the conveyor I8 descends in passing fromthe sprocket wheels 20 to the sprocket wheels 24. Likewise thestub-shafts 33 carrying the sprocket wheels 25 are above the shaft 34which carries the sprocket wheels 2|, but the lower sides of thesprocket wheels 25 are below the tops of the sprocket wheels 2|, so thatthe conveyor descends in passing from the sprocket wheels 2| to thesprocket wheels 25.

The sheets 5 pass from the rolls 8 to the upper side of the upper leg ofthe conveyor l6, as shown in Figs. land 6. After the sheets leave-therolls 8, they are conveyed by the rollers I9 of the conveyor l6 untilthe forward ends thereof engage the pendent adjustable stops 35 pivotedon the cross-bar 36. The sheets 5 as they issue from the rolls 8 firstride upon that part of the conveyor which is passing over the sprocketwheels 20, thisrpart being at a higher level than the parts travelingfrom the sprocket wheels 24 to the sprocket wheels 2|. The length of,each sheet 5 must be such that its rear end will descend below the levelof those rollers IS on the rod I8 which immediately follow the sheet.The length and level of each sheet 5 must also be such that, while it isheld by the adjustable stops 35, the rollers IS on the said rod I8 willcome upon the upper face of the sheet, as shown in Fig. 4, and depressthe rear end of the sheet, as shown in Fig. 6, preferably until itengages the rear end of the top sheet on the pile 31 below. As theconveyor l6 continues to travel, the sets of rollers 19 supporting thesheet pass in succession from beneath the sheet. One of the three setsof rollers i9 shown in Fig. 1 has passed beyond the sheet 5, as shown inFig. 4. Another of the sets of rollers I9 is just passing from under thesheet 5 in Fig. 6, and the final set of rollers l9 which supported thesheet is about to pass from beneath the forward end of the sheet, asshown in Fig. 5. As soon as this set of rollers passes this end of thesheet, it will fall upon the pile 31 beneath. It will be noted that therear end of the sheet 5 was in contact with the top sheet of the pilefor a considerable portion of its length before the forward end of thesheet was dropped. This is of great importance as it ensures accuratematching of the top sheets of the pile with those below. The rearportions of the flexible hot sheets sag into close contact with the pileandprevent any floating of the sheets, which occurs when sheets arebodily dropped upon a pile. In our device the rear ends of the sheetsare frictionally anchored to the rear end of the pile and the parts ofthe sheet in front are successively laid down on the pile; the airbetween the pile and the sheet is gradually expelled without any dangerof the air floating the sheet so it will not register as desired withthe top of the pile.

It will be noted from Figs. 1, 4, 5 and 6 that a sheet 5 following asheet 5 will go over the top of sets of rollers 19 succeeding therollers H! which supported the front sheet.

The pile 31 is. supported on a truck 38 on rails 39 which are supportedon hydraulic jacks by which the truck may be lowered to keep the top ofthe pile at a constant or desired level.

When the pile 31 has been completed, the stops 35 are thrown up out ofthe path of the sheets 5 which then pass to the second piling mechanismwhich is like that already described. The sheets are then piled on thetruck 38' running on the rails 39' which are supported by the hydraulicjacks 40. The sheetstravel on the con- .veyor [6 until their forwardends engage the stops 35' carried by the cross-bar 36. As the secondpiling mechanism is constructed and operated like the one alreadydescribed, the second one will not be further described.

While the second piler is being used, the truck 38 with the pile 31 maybe removed and an empty truck may be run in on the rails 39 to theproper piling position. The second piler allows the annealing to proceedcontinuously. With only one piler, the feed of the sheets through thefurnace must stop for a time with more or less damage to the sheets andwith a loss of output.

The piling mechanism may be used with sheets wide enough to span both ofthe stops 35, or they may be so narrow that they will engage only one ofthe stops, or two lines of sheets may be fed, each line engaging onlyone of the stops. In Fig. '7' we show two piles of sheets on the truck38', and in Fig. 3 we show two sheets 5a lying side by side on separatepairs of rollers I9, each sheet being in engagement witlra stop 35'.

The rollers [9 as shown in Figs. 3 and 7 have at their side hubs M, andpins 42 in the shafts I8 and at the outer ends of the hub for holdingthe rollers from longitudinal. travel on the shafts I8. The rollers arefreely rotatable on the shafts so that the conveyor will travel withoutundue friction on the lower faces of the sheets 5 while they are held bythe stops.

To accommodate sheets 5 of various lengths, the bars 36 and 36' areadjustable longitudinally of the conveyor [6 by the bar-securing bolts43 and 53 in selected holes 44 and 44' in the top of the frame 23.

In case it is desired to anneal and pile two lines of sheets ofdifferent lengths, an additional bar 36a would be provided in front ofor behind the bar 36 and positioned so as to,stop the sheets with theirrear ends located as described hereinbefore. The adjustable stop 35awhich is in line with the travel of the longer sheets would be thrown upout of sheet-stopping position while the stop 35 which is in line withthe travel of the shorter sheets would be thrown down intosheet-stopping position.

45 designate pipes to conduct operating fluid to and from the hydraulicjacks. We have shown jacks as an example of a means for operating thetrucks vertically, but other suitable means may be used.

The conveyor I3 may be omitted or removed and a truck 46 placed toreceive the waster sheets as they drop from the pass of the rolls 1 andI2.

We have shown cross-bars 36, 36 and 36a secured to the frame 23 by bolts43 as an example of a means for adjusting the position of the cross-barslongitudinally of the frame, but other suitable means may be used forsecuring these bars to the frame.

This invention is not to be limited to the specific constructiondisclosed as changes may be made .therein without altering its scope asdefined in the appended claims.

We claim- 1. In a sheet piling mechanism, an endless conveyor carryinghorizontal sheet supports, means causing a portion of the top leg of theconveyor to travel at a lower level than at a preceding portion thereof,and means for stopping the travel of the sheets on the said leg of theconveyor at such a position that a support following the rear end ofeach sheet engages the upper surface thereof and depresses it intocontact with a sheet -receiving surface before the front end of thesheet is released from the conveyor.

2. In a sheet piling mechanism, an endless conveyor carrying horizontalsheet supports, means causing a portion of the top leg of the conveyorto travel at a lower level than at a preceding portion thereof, andmeans for stopping the travel of the sheets on the said leg of theconveyor at such a position that a support following the rear end ofeach sheet engages the upper surface thereof and depresses it intocontact with a sheet-receiving surface before the front end of the sheetis released from the conveyor, the supports on which the sheet restsprogressively traveling toward the front end thereof, whereby the .sheetprogressively contacts with the said surface and the air between thesheet and the surface is gradually and progressively expelled from therear end of the sheet to its front end.

3. In a sheet piling mechanism, an endless conveyor carrying horizontalsheet supports, means causing the upper leg of the conveyor to travel ateach of two positions at a, lower level than at a precedingportionthereof, and means at the forward portion of each level for stopping asheet at such a position that a support following the rear end of thesheet engages the upper surface thereof and depresses the same intocontact with a sheet-receiving surface before the front end thereof isreleased from the conveyor, the first stopping means being displaceableso that sheets on the said leg will travel from the first level to thesecond level.

4. In a sheet piling mechanism, an endless conveyor carrying horizontalsheet supports, means causing a portion of the top leg of the conveyorto travel at a lower level than at a preceding portion thereof, meansfor stopping the travel of the sheets on the said leg of the conveyor atsuch a, position that a support fol-' lowing the rear end of each sheetengages the upper surface thereof and depresses it into contact with asheet-receiving surface before the front end of the sheet is releasedfrom the conveyor, and means for adjusting the stopping means so thatsheets of varying lengths may be positioned with, respect to their rearends as herefront end thereof is released from the conveyor,

the rear first stopping means being displaceable so that sheets on thesaid leg will travel from the first levelto the second level, and meansfor adjusting the stopping means so that sheets of,

varying lengths may be positioned with respect to their rear ends asherein described.

the travel of the sheets on the said leg of the conveyor at such aposition that a support following the rear end of each sheet engages theupper surface thereof and depresses it into contact with asheet-receiving surface before the front end of the sheet is releasedfrom the conveyor, and means" for adjusting the stopping means so thatsheets of varying lengths may be positioned with respect" to their rearends as herein described, in combination with means for adjusting thelevel of the sheet-receiving surface. a v

'7. Means for feeding a sheet. means for stopping the feed of the sheetover a support for the same, and means including a part of the feedingmeans for depressing the rear end of the sheet from the normal plane ofthe sheet down into contact with the support and progressively loweringthe remaining portions of the sheet into contact with the support.

8. An apparatusfor piling metal sheets consisting of a supporting meansfor the piled sheets, a conveyor for bringing a sheet into positionabove the supporting means, a stop for maintaining the sheet in the saidposition and means inneath the sheet to lay it on the supporting meanswith an action characterized by a gradual increase of. surface contactbetween the sheet and the supporting means.

9. An endless conveyer having substantially uniformly-spacedcrosssupports for supporting and feeding asheet, a downwardly moving meansincluding a part of .the conveyor for positively causing the rear end ofthe sheet to be disposed so that the supports next following the saidend of the sheet pass above the sheet, permitting the sheet to begradually lowered from its rear end to its advanced end.

'10. In a. sheet feeding and -piling apparatus,

an endless conveyer having a portion of one leg abruptly at a lowerlevel thananother portion of that leg, a sheet piling support beneaththe leg and a stop to position a sheet on the conveyer over the supportwith the rear end of the sheet near the foot of the said abrupt portionof the said leg, whereby the portion of the con.- veyer at the rear ofthe sheet passes above the sheet.

11. In a sheet feeding and piling apparatus, an endless conveyer havingsubstantially uniformly-spaced transverse means to support and feed asheet, means whereby the feed of the sheet is stopped and downwardlymoving means including a part of the conveyor whereby the rear end ofthe sheet is forced downwardly between two of saidtransverse means whilethe conveyer is traveling.

12. In a sheet piling mechanism. an endless conveyor carrying horizontalsheet supports, means causing a portion of the top leg of the conveyorto travel at a loweij level than at a preceding portion thereof,andf=means for stopping the travel of the sheets on'the said leg of theconveyor at such a position that the supports following the rear end ofthe sheet pass above the same while the supports beneath the sheet aregradually withdrawn.

13. In a sheet piling mechanism,- an endless conveyor carryinghorizontal sheet supports, means causing a portion of the top leg of theprecedingportion thereof, means for stopping the travel 'of the sheetson the said leg of the conveyor at such a position that the supportsfolconveyor 'toftravel at a lower level than at a lowing the rear end ofthe sheet pass above the same whilg the supports beneath the sheet are;

gradually withdrawn, and means for brgradnalthestoppingmeanssothatsheetsoivsryinglengthsmaybepositionedwithrespecttotheir rear ends as herein described.

14. A metallic sheet conveyor and piling mechanismincluding means forcross supporting and conveying metallic sheets in their normalhorisontal planes. means for stoppin the sheets, and downwardly movingmeans including a part oi the cross supporting and conveying means forforcing the rear ends of the said sheets downwardly to a plane below thenormal stopped positions, thereby causing the said sheets to begradually piled from theirreer to their front ends drawal or thesupporting eonveyor.

15. A sheet conveyor and piling mechanism including means for stoppingthe sheets in their travel on the conveyor, and means for supporting andconveying the sheets in their normal planes and for forcing the rearends of said sheets downwardly to a plane below the normal stoppedpositions while the conveyor continues its travel, thereby causing thesaid sheets to be gradually piled irom their rear to their front ends bygradual withdrawal of the supporting conveyor.

WILLIAM F. CONKLIN. HOMER 8. HOPKINS. JOHN M. ROVER.

